The Catalyst
by watergirl22
Summary: The war is now over and the Gaang needs somewhere to get away from it all for a while, at the Western Air Temple. This is where they meet a mysterious new girl, Hakiya, who starts to set things into motion. Set after the finale, but doesn't follow The Promise series. ZukoxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! To set a few things strait before we begin, this story takes place about three months or so after Sozin's Comet, but The Promise stories never happened. I'm not putting much detail in to this because I'm assuming that everyone knows what the air temple looks like and what everyone else looks like. Well, that's all for now, so read, review, and enjoy!**

**I don't own anything from A:TLA**

The Western Air Temple. It was once a great place where the air nomads lived, but now lies in ruins with one sole occupant, Hakiya, a waterbender from the Northern Watertribe. She now tries to preserve remains of the temple and drives away anyone who threatens to destroy or harm it; someone had recently had a huge fight there and destroyed a portion of the temple before she had even gotten there, and she was determined not to let the rest of the magnificent piece of history be destroyed.

Hakiya is a sixteen-year-old girl who has been traveling alone since she was seven. She has sapphire blue eyes, long dark brunette hair usually up in a high pony tail, is very reserved and doesn't talk much, but is a skilled fighter. She decided that her water tribe pants were too baggy and warm, so she found a pair of slimmer black pants, wears a dark blue, short-sleeved shirt with a black jacket when it gets cold, but it's not bulky. Her shoes are not the boots of the water tribe but traditional shoes worn there. She reached the Western Air Temple when she had just turned sixteen and had been there for about two months.

One day, Hakiya was in the river by the temple and saw a huge shadow from something flying above and looked up. She saw what looked like one of the beasts from the murals on the temple walls, flying toward the temple. She didn't know if it was friendly or not, so she hid and watched. It sailed right into the canyon that held the temple, so she created water out of the air, made an ice board (like a snow board), and rode it through the air to see what or who had just gone into her home.

When she flew into the canyon she immediately spotted the flying creature and saw that there were people on it climbing off of it and throwing down sleeping bags. Hakiya didn't like this so she flew down to the edge, summer-salted and made her board into two ice daggers that she gripped with her hands. "Who are you and what are you doing at my home?" she asked in a low and commanding voice, eyes glaring daggers at the strangers.

They all looked at Hakiya with strange looks, and they all had different types of clothing. Two of them had watertribe clothing, which Kahiya recognized but she didn't know them, so they must be from the Southern Tribe. One was a girl with a water pouch and Kahiya could immediately tell she was a water bender, but the other, a boy, wasn't. Another girl had earth kingdom clothing and looked blind. There was a boy with jet-black hair and he had a scar over his left eye and he wore fire nation clothing. Someone else had on a green warrior dress with her face covered in makeup. The last was the boy who responded to me. He didn't look like anyone Hakiya had seen in real life; he had arrow tattoos on his head, arms, and legs, and wore orange and yellow robes. She only knew he was dressed as an air nomad from the paintings on the temple walls.

He pointed a staff at her and responded, "What do you mean 'your home?' This is an air temple, which is my home."

"This place was deserted when I got here, and when I saw the destruction of that part of the temple over there," she pointed to a section of the temple where it looked like explosions had happened and where a fountain had once been, "I decided to protect it from any more people who have come to finish the job. Besides, like you said, this is an air temple and there are no more air benders."

"Do you even know who we are, who he is," said the waterbender, pointing to the boy dressed in air nomad clothes.

"No, and I don't need to know either, just leave!" Hakiya replied.

"Is she serious?" the watertribe girl asked to the rest of her group and they all just shrugged. "How long have you been out of touch with the world," she asked.

"Nine years," she responded coldly and all the strangers' eyes bulged.

"No wonder she doesn't know who we are," said the girl in earth kingdom clothes, "so how about a proper introduction? I'm Toph, but you can call me 'The greatest earthbender in the world.' This is sugar queen," she said pointing to the water tribe girl, "twinkle toes," now pointing at the one dressed in air nomad clothes, "snoozles," pointing to the watertribe guy, "warrior princess," pointing to the girl in the warrior outfit, "and hot head," pointing to the one in fire nation clothes. By the time she was done she was getting looks that ranged from amused to angry.

"Well, those are quite some names, 'twinkle toes' and 'hot head', but you should really be leaving now," Hakiya replied, slightly amused herself.

"Those are not our names, I'm Katara," the watertribe girl said, "this is Sokka, my brother," she said pointing to the boy from the watertribe, "this is Suki, his girlfriend," she said waving her had to indicate the girl in the warrior getup, "this is Zuko," she said pointing to the guy in the fire nation clothes, "and this is Aang, he's the avatar," she finished, resting her hand on Aang's shoulder and he nodded.

"Who do take me for, the avatar hasn't been seen for over a hundred years," she said annoyed.

"Well then, let me show you," Aang said. He stomped the ground and pushed the air and then a rock came up out of the ground and slid over the edge. Then he threw punches the same way as the rock and fire flew from his fingers. Next Katara uncapped her water, he made fluid movements with his arms, and then the water came out of the bottle, danced around for a bit, and then went back in. Next he moved his hands in a circular motion and a burst of air shot out of nowhere. "Now do you believe me?" he asked and she sighed.

"I guess, but what are you doing here? If you're the avatar, why don't you stay at some fancy place instead of these old ruins?" she asked, still suspicious.

Aang looked back at the rest of the group and Zuko glared, "look, it's a long story, but for now, we need to stop here, probably for just a few days, but we need to rest, and this is a good place for us. We won't get in you way of what ever your doing, in fact I really appreciate what your doing. Thank you," Aang said and bowed.

Hakiya nodded slightly and turned around to leave. She was walking toward the edge but stopped when she heard Suki yell, "Hey wait, you never told us your name."

Hakiya turned her head to see expectant faces. She smiled slightly and said "Hakiya." Then she turned back around, started running, and jumped over the edge making a new ice board once she was falling, and then flew to another part of the temple, shocked faces staring at her the whole way.


	2. Chapter 2

**I know I just put up the first chapter, but I don't like where it ends, so I'm putting up this one too. So anyways read and review!**

**I don't own Avatar**

By the third day the strangers had been there, Hakiya knew they were friendly. She had been keeping a close eye on them from a distance though. She learned that the Katara really was a waterbender, Sokka was an excellent swordsman, Suki was a Kioshi warrior and an excellent fighter, Toph was an earthbender and uses it to see, so she caught Hakiya a few times, and that Zuko is a firebender. She learned that the flying creature that brought them there was a sky bison named Appa, but she still didn't know why they were at the air temple. She also heard that they where running out of food and that they were going to have to get more tomorrow. But while they were there they saw how she was trying to clean up the temple and they started helping her, but didn't talk to her much or clean up in the same spots as her.

On the third day they were there, Hakiya spent the whole day hunting for fish, fruits, nuts, and other things to eat, and brought it back to the part of the temple where she stays. Then during the middle of the night she moved everything to where the group was staying. There was probably enough food for a while there, a big jar of water, and she even managed to get a few bundles of wheat for the bison. Then she left to get some sleep.

The next day she was working on a room near the avatar's group, trying to move large boulders outside and making it less dusty and dirty. When she was having trouble getting one of the boulders, it suddenly moved backward out the door and over the edge while she almost fell on her back, but a burst of wind caught her and righted her back on her feet. She turned around and saw Aang.

"Thanks for the food, how did you get so much?" he asked her getting more boulders out of the room. Hakiya gave him a contemplating look.

"I know some good places to get food," she simply said and started sweeping the floor with a hand made broom. "This would be so much easier if I knew how to earthbend," she sighed and sat on the floor up against the wall.

"Well, you're a waterbender, so you can't earthbend," Aang told her.

"Oh, I beg to differ. The reason I can waterbend is because my chi, my energy, is connected to water's energy very strongly. But, if I can concentrate hard enough, I bet I can bend all the elements, just like you. You're still special through because I wouldn't be able to go into the spirit world," she replied.

"That's an interesting idea, but where did you learn all that?" he asked Hakiya and she smiled.

"When you've been traveling on your own since you were seven, you tend to meet some interesting people," was what she said to him and he laughed.

"Boy do we know what you mean. I mean just look at us," he said and she laughed too this time.

"I guess so, but back to my earlier statement, there are times when I think I've earthbended before, but those are rare and it never happens when I need it to. Sometimes I thought I could bend the other elements too," she told him and he had a doubtful look on his face, but still carried on the conversation.

"Well, what were you doing when you thought you could bend the other elements? Maybe your feelings gave you enough energy to connect with the other elements."

"That might be, that's how I learned to waterbend. When I was little I couldn't bend, but when I was on my own I started to learn, I taught myself everything I know, which honestly isn't much, but it's enough to get by."

"Hey, you should have Katara teach you waterbending, she's practically a master!"

"Now is she really that good, or are you just saying that because she's your girlfriend?" she asked smiling and Aang blushed.

"She's a fantastic bender, one of the best! And I'm not just saying that," he said defensively.

"Alright, alright, we'll see okay, it's up to her, not me. But I've had a long enough break, gotta get back to cleaning," she said standing up and grabbing her broom again.

"Well, I just wanted to thank you for cleaning up around here, you've inspired me and I think I want to stay and help you out here. This is my home after all, I should help," he said and started to walk out of the room, but in the door way he turned around, "oh, and your welcome to come have dinner with us tonight," he said and left.

For the rest of the day Hakiya cleaned the room, not stopping for lunch. She washed the dirt off of the walls in the room and was practically done sweeping the floor when she wanted to amuse herself and try earthbending. She spotted a rather large rock and punched the air, but this time it moved and slid out the door. She grinned to herself and spread her arms out and then pulled them together and pushed out with them. Then all the rocks, pebbles, and dust in the room went in to a line in front of the door and then out. She noted that she had felt pride, confidence, and basically felt like she owned the place just before she moved the earth.

After she was done with the room, she noticed how dark out it was getting and she could smell the food that the group was cooking and decided that she would accept Aang's offer and have dinner with them, just for the sake of hot food, if nothing else. She walked to where the group had set up camp, but stood in the shadows when she saw everyone already eating, laughing, and talking. She was about to turn around when she heard a voice.

"Didn't know you were going to be here," Toph said which made everyone turn to her, who was pointing at Hakiya.

"Oh, I kinda invited her to eat with us, as a thanks for the food. Is that okay everyone?" Aang asked the rest of the group who all gave nods of approval. Then Hakiya slowly started to walk forward not sure what to expect.

"Well come on, we're not going to bite," Suki said and patted a spot between her and Zuko, who glared at her, but didn't say anything. Katara was already pouring a bowl of soup for Hakiya and when she sat down she handed it to her and everyone continued to eat and talk, except her and Zuko.

"So, Hakiya, Aang told me you're a waterbender, maybe we could teach each other a thing or two," Katara said to her and Hakiya looked at her and nodded.

"Okay," was all she said and she looked down and started eating slowly again.

"Alright so I'm so confused, how did you get so much food so fast? We couldn't get this much food if we all looked for it," Sokka said to Hakiya and she grinned.

"You have to know the right places to look," she responded.

"Gee, that's helpful, I'm gonna find loads of food with that information," he said sarcastically.

"Ever think that's the point? Only take what you need not excess. That's how it works around here if you want to have more food later. I only gave you that much because there's so many of you and I don't know how much you eat," she responded.

"That's smart, then the food won't go bad, but you have to find food everyday, that must get exhausting," Aang said.

"Not really, I've been doing it for nine years," she said.

"So you've been alone for nine years?" Suki asked and she nodded.

"Basically. I mean I go into a town about once a year to get new clothes, but that's all the human interaction I get, unless I meet another person on the road."

"Don't you have any family though?" Katara asked and Hakiya looked down at her food again.

"No. They died a long time ago," Hakiya said and everyone looked down, except for Zuko who looked at her. "Thanks for dinner everyone, it was great," she said standing to leave before anyone could say anything about her family.

"Your welcome, we're glad you could eat with us," Aang said as Hakiya was leaving. When she had left the group and was almost to her part of the temple she smiled. She felt like she had almost made a few friends, or at least met some people who could potentially become her friends.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone! Thanks to everyone who read it, but especially thanks to the two who reviewed, it makes writing worthwhile. So anyway, if you guys have any ideas or things that you think I should add, tell me and I'll try to put it in. Well here you go, chapter three, and as always read, review, and enjoy!**

**I don't own Avatar**

When they knew Hakiya was out of earshot, they started talking.

"I don't know Aang, she seems very distant and reserved, kind of unpredictable. What makes you think she would be good on our team?" Katara asked.

"Because Katara, she's protecting my home; she's automatically a good person to have around. But the reason she's so distant with us is because she doesn't trust us yet. I think we should do something so great that she'll have to trust us," he said and everyone groaned.

"Why is it so important that she trusts us? She's not going to hurt us; she would have already if she wanted to. Plus she gave us the fruit," Toph said.

"You guys, there's something special about her, and I'm not saying that because she's orphaned and renovating my home. I'm saying that because she told me some pretty wise things. She told me she thinks she can bend all the elements if she tries hard enough," he finished to shocked expressions.

"So you want to keep her under surveillance?" Sokka asked.

"Well, it doesn't sound right if you put it that way, but I want to make sure she doesn't do anything that could harm the peace in the world. I mean we just got out of a hundred year war!" Aang said and he got a few nods.

"Well what do you guys think, earn her trust and see what she's really like?" Aang asked the group.

"Yes, I'd love to try and teach her a few waterbending tricks, and I want to know how she does that thing with the ice," Katara said.

"Sure, I think she'd be good to have around," Suki said.

"Ya, she can show me where to get the food," Sokka added and they all laughed. "But really, I think she could have some good things to add to the group, besides food."

"Toph?" Aang asked her.

"Eh, why not. Might be fun to teach again," she said with an evil grin on her face.

"I feel sorry for her already," Sokka said which earned him a whack with a flying pebble. "And me," he said glaring at her and everyone laughed.

"What about you Zuko?" Aang addressed the quietest person there.

"You know what I think. I think we should have left when we found out she was here, and now you want to take her with us. I don't like it," he said.

"Zuko, we all know what you've been through; it's not like we're pushing her on you though, and you don't have to be around her every second of the day. Besides she doesn't have anyone in the world; she's hurting just as much as you are," Katara said.

"Fine, but don't expect me to do anything special for her," he said and stalked off to his corner where he sleeps.

"Okay, it's settled then, we should gain her trust, but what should we do?" Aang said.

"When we first talked to her she mentioned the place we stayed before, with the fountain, and we all know she can't fix that herself. Maybe Aang, Toph, and Katara could fix that and the rest of us can clean the rooms surrounding it," Sokka said.

"I'm not fixing anything!" Zuko yelled from his spot in the corner.

"Glad to know your still with us Zuko," Sokka said sarcastically with got everyone to laugh.

"Don't worry Sokka, I'm good at tidying up places," Suki said placing a hand on his knee and he smiled.

"Sure," he said dreamily and everyone laughed.

"Is anything gonna get cleaned if you two do it?" Toph said chuckling still.

"Don't worry about us, I know what needs to get done, and I can kick his butt if he doesn't do it," Suki said smiling and Sokka stared at her with an open mouth, which got another round of laughter.

"Okay, but we need to do it when she's not watching us, but she's always here which presents a problem," Aang told them.

"She's not always here. She leaves in the morning for an hour and then stays in her little area for another half hour," Toph said.

"Okay then, we'll do it in the morning when she leaves, do you think we can finish constructing it in that amount of time though?"

"Come on twinkle toes, I'm the greatest earthbender there is. Leveling some ground and making some pillars isn't that hard or time consuming," Toph replied and Aang smiled.

"What about the fountain Katara?" Aang asked her.

"For once I agree with Toph, it's not going to be that hard. Have a little faith here," she said putting her arm around his shoulder and he scooted closer to her.

"Well, good night love birds," Toph said walking a bit away from the four and making an earth tent for herself.

"I actually think we all should get to bed, we need to be up kinda early tomorrow, so we should get some sleep," Aang said getting up and helping Katara up. They shared a good night kiss and both went to bed, Sokka and Suki doing the same thing.

The Next Morning

Hakiya woke up the same time as usual. She got up and took her spare set of clothes with her up to the river. There she took a bath, washed her clothes and gathered food for breakfast. She ate near the river and when she was done about an hour later, she gathered up her clothes, went back down to her area of the temple, and meditated. She was trying to strengthen her chi, or her energy, so she could connect with the other elements.

After about forty-five minutes of meditation, she got up and started walking toward the site where the fountain used to be. She always visited here incase she noticed something she could fix, but when she got there she was amazed at what she saw. The floor had been completely smoothed over and it could be walked on without fearing it would crumble beneath someone's feet. The pillars had been erected into their proper places and the fountain was there, spilling water out into the fountain, running in an area that resembled a stream, which ran off the edge.

She walked into the center of the area, next to the fountain, to take it all in. She sat down on the edge of the fountain and started playing with the water, making it float all around her. She set the water back in the fountain, closed her eyes and breathed in. "So is this what it looked like?" She asked.

"How did you know we were still here?" Katara asked as she stepped out from behind a pillar. Toph and Aang come out from behind their own pillars. "And ya, this is pretty much what it looked like." They all walked over to her and sat down next to her.

"So, do you trust us now? We really don't want to do anything to hurt you" Aang said as he sat down on the other side of Katara, who was next to Hakiya.

She looked at them and gave them a half smile, "Well, I don't know… but your chances seem pretty good," she said.

"Thanks, you won't regret it," Aang said standing up. Katara hugged her, which Hakiya hesitantly accepted and hugged back, and Toph got up and started to walk away, but punched her on the shoulder before she left and Hakiya smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

**I want to thank everyone for reading, and thanks to those who have reviewed and put the story on their alert list, makes me feel good inside Well, here's chapter 4, so read review, and enjoy!**

**I don't own Avatar**

It was now a week after the gang had earned Hakiya's trust. She was now eating dinner with them every night and someone always helped her clean up a part of the temple. Everyone treated her like part of the group, everyone but Zuko that is. He remained distant.

One day Katara and Hakiya were practicing together, and that was when Hakiya finally asked why they were here.

"You guys never told me why you were really here. I know this is part of Aang's home and all, but why stay here now?" she asked as they were passing water back and forth between the two of them.

"I don't think it's my place to tell you, you should ask Zuko about that," she said, still passing the water.

"Well that's not going to happen, he hates me. He never talks, comes near me, or even acknowledges that I'm alive. Why can't you just tell me?"

"Because it has to do with him and I don't want to tell you something he doesn't want you to know. Then he'll be mad at all of us," she said and Hakiya laughed at the last part.

"I thought that was just his normal mood- mad," then Katara laughed and water splashed to the ground because they were both laughing.

"He does seem kinda dark, but he's been through a lot, more than you've been through probably. Just give him some time to get used to you," she said, serious again.

"We should trade stories sometime, see who really has it worse," she told Katara darkly and she sighed. Hakiya closed her eyes and breathed in deeply.

"Or maybe he could tell me now?" she said turning around and running into the hallway and dragging back a struggling Zuko. She made him walk over and sit on the fountain.

"Wow, I don't understand how you knew he was there but…" she said to Hakiya and then turned to Zuko, "What where you doing, spying on us?" she asked him in a rather irritated voice.

"I wasn't spying, I was walking by and heard you talking about me, so I listened," he said defensively.

"Alright, so you were eavesdropping on us, that's great," Hakiya said turning to walk away.

"How did you even know I was there, I didn't make a sound the whole time I was listening," he told her she was still walking off.

"Well now you've done it," Katara said, glaring at Zuko. Then she ran off to follow her. Zuko just groaned and put his head in his hands.

"Great, now she hates me _and_ she thinks I hate her," he said to no one. Finally, he got up and started wandering around the temple. He needed time to be alone and to think. What did she mean when she said they should see who has it worse? Could she possibly understand what he's going through? And how did she even know he was there listening? He needed to talk to her and get answers, but how was he going to do that now, she was so angry. And even if he did get her to talk, she would ask her questions first, which would essentially mean telling her his life story to answer them. But then again, wasn't that what he wanted to know about her, her horrible life story too? He was so confused about what he wanted and angry at being caught. He decided to go talk to Aang about it, he always gives good advice, he is the avatar after all.

When he found Aang, Zuko told him everything that had happened and the questions he had for her.

"Well Zuko, first I think you should apologize. She's obviously hurt because of the way you've treated her the whole time you've known her and for listening in on them. I don't know how she knew you were there, but she did that to Katara, Toph, and me. We didn't make a sound, but she knew we were still behind the pillars," Aang said to a wide-eyed Zuko.

"Fine, I guess I could apologize, but what if she starts asking me questions, I want mine answered first," Zuko told Aang and he gave Zuko a contemplative look.

"You should each ask one question and go back and forth, that way it's fair. But you've got to go alone. I can talk to her before if you want though to make sure she's calm," He offered but Zuko shook his head.

"No, I have to fix this, and your right, I need to fix this alone. I guess she gets to know why we're here," he sighed and closed his eyes. Aang put his hand on his shoulder.

"Your doing the right thing Zuko, she deserves to know," he said and then walked away. Then Zuko started walking, trying to find Hakiya and the answers to his questions. He finally found her sitting at the fountain with her back to him.

"What do you want now?" She asked coolly, back still turned. He went over to her and sat down, but gave her some distance because she still didn't turn around.

"I came to apologize. I'm sorry for the way I've been acting toward you, and I'm sorry for eavesdropping, but I don't hate you," he told her and she sighed.

"I don't care if you hate me or not, I just wanted to know why. I only had two questions for you, why are you here and why do you hate me?" she said turning to put her feet in the water, but she could also look at him.

"Look, I don't hate you, I was only staying away because I don't need to be around girls I don't know right now. But before I answer your other question I want to ask a question. How did you know I was there?" He asked her and she half smiled, but still played with the water.

"That's easy, I used waterbending. When I was still young and out on my own in the woods, I was so scared that something would sneak up on me. That's when I realized how to use the water in the air to show me where things were when I had my eyes closed. If anything tried to sneak up on me, just their breathing would let me know they were there. That's how I knew you were there," she said still looking at the water.

"Great, so your another Toph," he said and she laughed.

"Not exactly. But on to my next question: Why are you guys here? Katara told me to ask you."

He sighed and then started, "You should know by now that I helped defeat Firelord Ozai, right?" he looked at her and she nodded. "Well, I'm the Ozai's son, and the new Firelord." He paused to look at her, but she only raised her eyebrows, still not looking at him, so he continued. "I had been coroneted and about two weeks later was the first attempt at my life. A month past and there had been four total, but no one succeeded. On the fifth time however, whoever was trying to kill me decided to get at me by killing my girlfriend, Mai. Aang got word and we started traveling around again. My uncle is in charge until I get back, he's making everyone believe that I'm searching for a new girlfriend, but I'm hiding. Half of my country thinks I'm a traitor for ending the war. It's just all so much and I needed a break, so we came here, where I can easily get back if I need to," he said and she looked at him sympathetically.

"You may be a traitor to half your country, but you're a hero to most of the world," she said finally looking him in the eyes.

"Why so nice all the sudden?" he asked her and she gave him a half smile.

"I can't hold a grudge to save my life."

They sat in silence for a few minutes and then Zuko asked, "Well, now you know my story, what's yours?" he asked and she looked down again.

"Maybe some other time, you don't need anything else bothering you," she said and started to walk away.

"You're the one who said she wanted to know who had it worse, and now you won't even tell me?" he said frustrated.

"Fine! You wanna know so badly? Here it is." She said in a harsh and hurried voice. She slowed down but still had some harshness in her words when she said, "My mother died in childbirth, then it was only me and dad. One day when I was seven, my dad decided to take me out hunting with him, but there was a horrible accident and he was killed. I couldn't go back to that horrible icy place, they'd throw me in the orphanage and I couldn't take that, I'd heard stories, so I left."

All the harshness in her voice had vanished, now there was just sadness, "I wandered around in the earth kingdom, not knowing where exactly I was going. I sang and danced to get money to buy clothes and I found a book about edible plants and bought that. I was living off the land for years, but when I was fifteen, just last year, I went into a town. I sang for my clothes money as usual, but this time I saw a young man watching me, he was about eighteen. After I had finished for the day and was packing up, he walked over to me and invited me to his house for dinner. After that we became a couple and lived that way for about five months. Everything was perfect, and I had heard rumors that he was even going to ask me to marry him, but before he could ask, the fire nation invaded the village. They killed him and a few others who tried to resist. After that I left and didn't go into towns anymore. A few weeks later I stumbled across this place and made it my new home."

She finished with her back turned so Zuko couldn't see the tears brimming in her eyes, but she held her voice steady the whole time. "So, who has it worse?" she said bitterly while walking toward the edge. She turned around and saw him looking at her with sympathetic eyes, but she jumped off the edge and went back to her part of the temple. She got there and cried until she couldn't anymore; she fell asleep and didn't wake up until the next morning.


	5. Chapter 5

**First of all, thanks to everyone who has put this story on their alerts list, favorite it and especially to those who have reviewed, it makes me so happy when I find a new e-mail from FF! Second, if you guys have any ideas please tell me and I'll try to put them in. Here's chapter 5, enjoy and please review!**

**I don't own avatar**

Zuko watched her leave and couldn't believe how stupid he was. She had just listened to his story, not degrading him for being a coward because he was in hiding, but she gave him a compliment. Then he had to go and force her to tell him something she wasn't ready to tell. But now that he knows, he thinks that she truly does know what he's going through, the pain anyway.

She hasn't had a motherly figure her whole life, but he had his mother for a while. And she lost her father when she was seven, but he had Iroh, who was more like a father than Ozai could ever be. She also knows what it's like to loose the one you were going to spend forever with, she was about to get married and he had known Mai since he was little. He sighed and started walking back to camp. When he got there he saw Aang meditating there, but he looked up when he heard Zuko walking.

"So how did it go?" he asked.

"Good at first, then bad. I'm an idiot," he said leaning up against a wall and then sliding down it so he was sitting on the floor.

"Well do you want to tell me what happened?" Aang asked.

"I told her why where here, then she called me a hero! I'm no hero. I'm a coward. I won't even go back to the fire nation because I'm afraid someone might kill me! Well then I asked for her story and she said no, so I got frustrated because she wanted to tell me earlier, but now she doesn't, and I said something like that. Well she got mad too and told me what happened to her, and it's not pretty," He said and then continued to tell Aang her story.

"Well, at least you know you can kinda empathize with her, but you shouldn't have pushed. Right now I think she needs some time alone, she just had to relive all the hurt her life has thrown at her. But we should check on her tomorrow to see if she's all right," he said and got up. "Maybe you should be alone for a while too, think about what she said, because you are a hero Zuko," he smiled and left.

Zuko sighed and leaned his head against the wall. This girl was so much like him, both in their pasts and in their presents. She was so strong willed, easily angered, but a good person at heart. And he'd hurt her, yet again. How dumb could he get? He eventually fell asleep and didn't wake up till the next morning, his dreams plagued with images of his mother, Mai, and Hakiya.

The Next Day

Hakiya woke up, did her normal morning routine, and then started cleaning a section of the temple that wasn't close to the edge, so it was hard to clean up the boulders. She was tired by the time she had cleared out the fifth one by herself, but there was still more to do, so she tried to earthbend.

She calmed herself and stood in front of a boulder. She got into a stance she normally saw earthbenders in and then pushed forward with her arms. The boulder flew out the door, through the hallway and over the edge. She did that for the rest of the boulders in the room and then collected the dust, dirt, and pebbles in the room in a line in front of the door just as she did the last room and pushed it all out and over the edge. That was when Toph came in.

"So you _can_ earthbend," she said with her eyebrows raised and a hint of shock in her voice. "I didn't believe twinkle toes when he said you were trying to earthbend."

"Oh, he told you guys that," Hakiya said scratching the back of her head, "what else did he tell you?"

"He said you're pretty smart for your age and that you'd be a good person to have on our side is all. You should really think about coming with us when we leave, we all like you," Toph replied and Hakiya smiled.

"Thanks, you guys are pretty great too. So do you want to teach me a few tricks?" she asked Toph who shrugged and started to walk away, and then a boulder came at Hakiya, who held up her hands and stopped it, right before it hit her. Then she pushed it to the right so she could see Toph.

"Good, you know how to stand your ground. You would be a good student," she said and turned around and left, bringing the boulder with her. Hakiya smiled to herself. Toph seemed pretty cool, especially because she was blind. She definitely respected the blind earthbender.

She was almost done cleaning the room when it started to get too dark to see, she was farther into the temple than she had thought, so she started to leave the room, but she had an idea. If she could already waterbend, and she was capable of earthbending, couldn't she firebend? So she tried it, she punched the air, but not a single spark left her fingers. She sighed and decided it wasn't going to work yet, so she turned to leave, and saw Zuko leaning up against the wall.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" she told him and he gave her a small smile.

"I thought you couldn't be snuck up on. And were you trying to firebend?" He asked slightly amused.

"Maybe, or maybe I was just trying to get a little light in the room so I could finish," she said turning her back to him and folding her arms across her chest. Then the room erupted into an orange glow. She turned around with a puzzled expression to see that Zuko was holding out a flame that lit up the room. She smiled at him and she started cleaning off the walls again.

When she was almost done he said to her, "I'm sorry for pushing you yesterday, but I'm kinda glad I did. Now I know I'm not the only one going through this kind of pain." He said and she turned around to look at him.

He was so close to her so she could really looked at him for the first time. She took in his messy black hair that fell over his face so it covered some of his scar that marred the left side of his face. She then looked into his golden gaze and saw so much hurt and pain there, but also love there and she really saw him for who he was, a man only slightly older than her, but with so much to deal with, not an almighty ruler of a country. She smiled at him, "It's okay, I'm sorry for overreacting; you deserved to know, considering you had just told me everything about you." She replied. Then she hugged him, burying her head in his chest, tears welling up in her eyes, and he put his arms around her, hugging her too. "Thank you for understanding," she whispered and let go. "So is that why you came over here, to say sorry?" she asked once he had flames in his hand again so they could see.

"Pretty much, but I do want to know something else. Were you really trying to firebend?" he asked her and she sighed.

"Ya, I couldn't see and wanted to try it, but it didn't work. Why do you want to know?" she asked him.

"Well I could give you a few tips if you want," he said looking at an eager expression and a nodding head. "Alright. So first your stance was wrong. You need to be balanced, knees bent, feet shoulder length apart. Then when you're actually trying to bend, the source shouldn't be from anger or rage. Fire is like the sun, warm and peaceful," he told her walking behind her and fixing her stance even more and adjusting her arms. She was lucky he wasn't watching her face as a small blush crept onto her face

"Be calm and focused. Then when you're ready, punch the air." He said, still standing behind her. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths calming herself, then she punched the air and a burst of flames shot out of her fist. She whirled around to face him, her blue eyes shone with excitement and a smile plastered on her face. "I didn't think I was ever going to be able to do that." She said and he gave her one of his rare smiles.

"Come on, let's go see what's for dinner," he said and they walked back to the rest of the group together. When they got there they saw everyone just sitting down for dinner.

"So did you two finally make up or what," Toph asked and everyone looked at us.

"We're good now," Hakiya said and he nodded.

"Finally," Aang said and everyone else laughed and agreed. Zuko and Hakiya even grinned at each other.

"So everyone's friends now," Katara asked while she and Suki handed out dinner to everyone.

"Yep," Hakiya said and then everyone ate.

When Hakiya was done, she got up to leave, and then Katara said, "You know, you can come over here and camp with us, if you want to," and Hakiya smiled.

"Sure, but I still need to get my things," she said and started away again.

"Do you need any help?" Suki asked her and she turned around again and shook her head.

"No, I don't have much, just a few things that I can easily carry," she said and then left. She got her few things from her area of the temple- her second set of clothes, a bedroll and pillow, and a little doll that her father had given her a few nights before he was killed. She put everything into the bag she carried on her back and started back to the camp. For the first time in a long time, she felt excepted, like everything was good and right in the world.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone, not much to say, but these next few chapters are hopefully going to be good, there's lots of stuff going on, but I don't think I'm going to put them up until I get a few more reviews, I want to here from you silent readers! So please review and thanks to those who have already reviewed!**

**I don't own Avatar**

_She was running through a forest, but everything was catching fire. All around her trees, grass, animals, everything was burning, trying to consume her in the raging inferno as well. She couldn't bend anything so she kept running, but the flames we're licking at her feet and arms. She was looking for anything desperate for some type of water, but she couldn't find any. The smoke was blinding her and she tripped over an overgrown root and fell. The flames grabbed her and started dragging her by her left arm to a hole. She tried to get away, but she was flung into the opening in the earth with flames dancing around at the bottom, but before they found their victim, her vision turned black._

_When she could see again she found herself in the Northern Watertribe with her mother, father, and playmates. She smiled at them and they all smiled back, but then she saw everyone collapsed on the floor with blood coming out of their mouths. She ran outside to get help, but she was now at the air temple, with everyone the same way as her parents and friends. She couldn't take it, so she jumped off the edge to fly away, but her bending didn't work. Just before she hit the ground she closed her eyes._

Hakiya woke up panting with a cold sweat on her forehead and sat up strait, checking her hands and legs, which were fine. Then she looked all around. Katara, Aang, Sokka, Suki, Toph and Zuko, her eyes resting longer on him than anyone else. They were all fine and still asleep; she just had a nightmare. She pulled her legs up to her chest and lowered her head to cry quietly.

A few minutes later, someone walked up, sat down next to her, and put a hand on her back. Her tear stained face looked up to see Zuko. She hugged him, and eventually stopped crying. "Do you want to talk about it," he whispered, holding her in his arms.

"I had a nightmare," she said shakily. She then recounted the dream she had and, almost starting to cry again when she finished.

"It's alright, no one's hurt, and I'm pretty sure you can still bend," he told her. She nodded her head, took a deep breath to calm her self, and let go of him. "Can you go back to sleep now?" He asked.

"I don't know, but if your tired, go to bed. You need your rest."

"You do too, now are you going to sleep or not?"

She sighed and said, "No," then wrapped her arms around her legs.

"Then I'll stay up with you until you fall asleep," he told her and she sighed.

"I thought you might say that," she said and then they sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" she asked him and he looked at her puzzled.

"You can ask, but there's no grantee I'll answer," he replied.

"How… did you get your scar?" she asked him hesitantly. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"I guess you should know, considering the whole world already does," he said and looked down. "I was thirteen and I wanted to go into a war meeting. My uncle got me in and the meeting started. I heard a General's horrible plan to sacrifice young soldiers who couldn't bend, so I spoke out of turn against the plan. I was then challenged to a duel, an Agni Kai, and I thought it was against the general I was disrespected, but when I got there, it was my father. I begged for mercy, but he told me I was weak. Then he taught me a permanent lesson," he said pointing to his scar, "and banished me until I caught the avatar."

"I'm sorry, I never had issues with my dad like that," she said still looking down.

"Ya, well, most dad's aren't complete jerks who want to take over the world. My uncle was more of a father to me," he said smiled slightly at the thought of his uncle.

"Well, I know you have family issues, but at least they're alive," she said still looking down.

"You wouldn't say that if you met them."

"There's gotta be someone you like in your family besides your uncle, at least someone you tolerate?" she asked perplexed how someone could hate their family so much.

He sighed and said "My mother, but I have no idea where she is," he said.

"I'm sorry," she said again and they were silent for a few more minutes.

"Thank you for staying up with me, I think I'm ready to go back to bed now," she said and he nodded. She laid back down and yawned. "Good night," she whispered and closed her eyes.

"Good night," he said standing up and going back to his area.

For the rest of that night Hakiya laid awake, thinking and planning.

_The Next Morning_

Hakiya got up earlier than everyone else, as usual. She picked up her clothes and started walking to the edge. She made her board and was about to jump when she heard a voice.

"Where are you going?" Zuko asked her and she narrowed her eyes at him.

She held up her clothes and said, "To take a bath, good bye now!" she said the last part in a high pitched voice wile waving and falling backward over the edge. She landed on her board and left to go to the river. She washed up, ate and then meditated, in case she wouldn't be able to later. When she got back everyone was finishing breakfast and starting to get up when they saw her.

"Sorry, we didn't save you anything, but, um… we'll have lunch later?" Aang said and she smiled.

"I already ate, don't worry," she said putting her newly washed set of clothes away.

"Oh that's good. Well see you later then," he said and hurried off with Katara, and she saw that Sokka and Suki had already gone. Toph was walking in a different direction than Aang and Katara, and Zuko was gone, so Hakiya decided to walk over to the edge and sit down, dangling her feet over the edge. A while later someone sat down next to her, Zuko.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," she responded, her mind thoughtful.

"What are you thinking about, you're never this quiet."

"I've been practicing firebending, and I've seen fierbenders use lightning. Do you think you can teach me?" she asked.

"No, your not ready yet," he said uneasily.

"Fine, I'll try it by myself," she said curtly and got up.

"And how do you think your going to do that, you don't even know the proper form," he said smugly.

"Actually I do, I've seen people do it before and I once had a long conversation with someone who taught me the fundamentals of it. I know I'm just guiding it, and all that energy stuff is how it forms and blah, blah, blah."

"Okay then, show me how's it's done." He said doubting she could produce even a little spark.

"All right I will," she said and got into position. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then moved her arms in a wide half circle, one at a time, then touched her hands together and put her right and out and her left hand behind her and an explosion happened which sent her flying backward but she merely flipped in the air and landed in a couched position with one hand on the floor still being sent backward by the force of the explosion. Zuko looked smug that she hadn't been able to create lightning, but that didn't bother her. She walked up to where she was before and did the same motions again, producing a flash of lightning that flew from her fingers and hit the other side of the canyon. She turned around and gave a shocked Zuko a smug expression. "Who's not ready now?"

"Urg, fine, let me try," he said, copying her movements, but he only got an explosion in his face. He tried it four more times, but the same thing happened. Hakiya just watched him, but when he was going to try it again, she put an arm on his shoulder. He turned around. His eyes were wide open, or as open as they could be, and he was panting. He shook her hand off his shoulder. "Why can't I do it, I have the right form, the right mindset, everything! What's wrong with me!" he said pulling his hair, but letting his hands drop to his sides when he turned away from her. He walked to a pillar so he could put his head in his arms and lean against the pillar.

"I was once told that you need to have peace within yourself in order to create lightning. Is there something that's bothering you, so that you can't do it?" Hakiya asked him and he sighed.

"My mother," he said bitterly.

"Well is there anyone who knows where she is?" she asked him, going over to him.

"My father, but he won't tell me, I've already tried," he said frustrated, hitting the pillar with his fist.

"Well then, we should get packing."

"Why?"

"Because, we're going to find your mother," she said and he looked at her with a defeated look.

"You won't be able to get him to talk, trust me," he said and started walking away.

"No, trust _me_. I can get him to talk. I can be very… persuasive when I want to be. Now, are you coming, or am I going alone?" she asked folding her arms across her chest, her eyes narrowed with a small smile on her face.

He sighed and said, "Fine, but how do you plan on getting there?" he asked and she moved her arms to make her ice board. He was running out of excuses not to go. Hakiya went to pick up her pack and walked back over to the edge.

"Coming?" she asked and he sighed. He went over to his stuff, picked up what he needed and left a note. Then he walked back over to her and she jumped over the edge onto her board. She looked back up to see him looking over the edge. "Well, jump on," she said motioning to the back of her board, which could fit another person. He sighed and jumped on the board. When he was on, she twisted her feet, which made ice come up their shoes and keep them on the board.

She said she felt a pair of strong arms come around her waist and she blushed slightly. "So which way are we going?" she asked him.

"That way," he said pointing and they sailed through the sky to the fire nation.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks for the reviews everyone! Here's chapter 7, read and enjoy!**

**I don't own Avatar**

They flew the whole day and got to the base of the hill the prison was on a few hours after the sun had set. Hakiya flew down to the path, melted the board, and they walked the rest of the way to the prison.

"Listen, I'm not proud of my father. I'm nothing like him, so just be warned of what your going to see in there," He told her and she nodded solemnly.

They reached the entrance to the prison without incident, they saw a few guards, but they instantly bowed when they saw Zuko. He then looked at the guards and said, "I'm not here, tell anyone of this and you will sorry," he said and when they nodded Hakiya and Zuko walked in. They went through a series of hallways and then got to a steel door. He stopped outside and looked at Hakiya. "Let me go inside first, if I need your help, I'll come get you," he told her and walked in.

"Hello, _son_," a voice Hakiya didn't recognize said.

"You are going to tell me where she is. _Right_. _Now_," Zuko said menacingly.

"And why would I want to tell you that?" the same voice said. Then Hakiya walked into the room.

"Because of me," she said in an eerily calm voice, walking in with her hands behind her back. "So is it going to be the easy way or hard way?" she asked, her voice still having that weird calmness. Ozai just laughed. She sighed, "Hard way it is," she said and raised her hand.

He instantly stopped laughing. His body went rigid and his arms and legs started twitching, like he didn't have control of his body anymore. Zuko's eyes widened. He'd only seen this one other time, when Katara was looking for the man who had killed her mother.

Ozai sank to the ground, arms outstretched as if he were bowing. "You know it's disrespectful not to bow to the Firelord," she said and made him straiten up again. "So are you ready to tell us?" She said, calmness gone, her voice threatening. He just glared at her and said nothing. She moved her hand so his back was bending backwards and he groaned in pain. Then she dropped her hand he fell to the ground, panting.

"I can keep this up all night if you want, all you have to do, is tell us where she's at," she said and went up to the bars to get eye level with him. He glared at her and she spread her hand out and had her fingers come together almost making a fist with her hand. He hunched over in pain and she put her hand down again.

"She's on an island," he panted, "It's called The Isle," he said in a beaten voice. Hakiya stood up and then left the room, Zuko in tow, and they left the prison. When they got outside she walked a while down the path and then went into the woods surrounding it. After she found a good spot that was far enough away from the path, she pulled her bedroll out and set it down, then laid down herself.

"You're just going to bed?" he asked surprised.

"Yes, I'm exhausted, I flew all day and then had to… bloodbend," she shivered at the though, "I hate doing that, it's horrible. And if you want to get to that island tomorrow, I need to rest," She said laying down and closing her eyes. She was asleep within minutes.

He leaned against a tree to think. He didn't know where this place was, but he knew someone who did. He looked back at Hakiya. He walked over to her and moved her hair away from her face.

"Thank you," he whispered and got up. "I'll be back soon," he said and started out for the palace.

Zuko managed to go through the palace undetected by guards and got when he got to his uncle's room he found him asleep, just as he thought.

"Uncle, Uncle wake up, I have to ask you something," he said, shaking his uncle's shoulder.

"Zuko, you're back," he said.

"Only for a little while. Uncle, I need to you tell me all you know about an island called The Isle,"

"I don't know much, I know that it's near Whale Tale Island, it's a tiny island about fifty miles West of it. No one's allowed to go there though. It's heavily guarded, but know one knows what's being guarded," he replied rather sleepily.

"Well I do. That's where my mother is," he said standing up to leave. He gave his uncle a hug and said, "Thank you, you've been a big help," he said and then left to get back to Hakiya.

He got back to her and she was still sound asleep when he got back. He pulled out a blanket for himself and laid down as well to get some rest, but sleep didn't come easily for him. He was as excited as a child on the day before his birthday; he couldn't sleep. When he finally did fall sleep, his dreams were filled with the happiest moments of his life, most of which were with his mother.

_The Next Morning_

Zuko woke up to see that Hakiya's bag was packed, but she wasn't there. He looked around and saw the bushes moving, so he got into a fighting stance.

"Calm down, it's only me," she said and he lowered his hands.

"That's still weird how you can do that, and what are you doing?" he asked her and she looked up.

"I'm getting breakfast, I'm kinda hungry considering I haven't eaten in 24 hours," she replied standing up and bringing over an armful of fruit and nuts.

"How do you find so much food?" he asked her astonished at how much food she had and hurried over to help her so nothing would fall out of her arms.

"Same way I can see you when I can't," she said and he nodded. They ate in silence and devoured the food, not realizing how hungry they were until they finished. Zuko got up and then extended his hand to Hakiya, which she accepted and got on her feet. She picked up her pack and stuffed a few fruits in it, then turned to make the ice board lowering it so Zuko could get on and she made the ice cover their feet again. He held her around her waist again and then they were off, Hakiya's face turning slightly red at the touch, but Zuko didn't notice.

"Uncle said that The Isle is near Whale Tale Island, but it's heavily guarded, so be prepared to fight, not everyone has respect for the Fire Lord," he said the last part bitterly.

"Okay, but it's still going to take me a while to get there," she said and he nodded. They didn't talk for a while. The sun had made its arch from the east and was about to dip into the horizon when Zuko broke the silence.

"I think we're halfway there, we just passed the Air Temple," he said and she nodded. The moon had risen by that time and it helped them go faster toward the island.

A while later Hakiya asked, "Could you open my pack, I put two apples in there for us this morning, and I'm getting pretty hungry," she said and she felt her pack being moved on her back. Then an apple appeared to her left and she took it and ate, she heard Zuko eating his too.

When he finished his apple he said, "I think we're almost there, we should just land on the shore and go from there, are you up for it?" he questioned, trying to look at her.

"I'll be fine," she said stiffly and he wondered if she really would be. She was scanning the waters for any sign of an island and found a small one, but there was no housing on it or any signs of human life, so they kept going. Finally they reached an island that had many soldiers surrounding the only house. They had arrived. The Isle.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi again everyone, just a few things before we start. First of all, as sunflower13 pointed out, The Isle is a suckish name and I apologize for that, but I'm seriously bad at naming things, if you couldn't tell. Second, there are only going to be a few more chapters to this story, I'm not really feeling good about this one anymore. And third of all, I looked at the total word count when I put up the last chapter and it was at 11,111, which I though was kind of cool. Anyway, here's the story, so enjoy and please review!**

**I don't own Avatar**

The two made it to the sand, and then walked up to the house, but there were guards there who blocked the entrance.

"What are you doing here?" A guard asked.

"I'm the Firelord, I have a right to see my mother," he said getting up in the guard's face.

"Your mother is not on this island, in fact the only female on this island is your friend over there," the guard said and Zuko turned to look at Hakiya who had her eyes closed and was breathing in.

"They're lying, there's someone in the house and I'm pretty sure we all know who it is," she said and the guards looked at each other, then back to Zuko, who had flames coming out of his hands because he was so angry. He stomped up the stairs to the house and the guards didn't do anything to stop him.

"I'll deal with you all later," he said in a low voice and went into the house, if you could call it a house. It had a small area like a living room, behind that was a room that looked like it was supposed to be a small kitchen, and one closed off room slightly to the right in the living room. Zuko rushed over to the door and pulled it open. In the room, he found a tall lean woman with jet-black hair and pale skin. When she turned around to see who it was he saw her golden eyes and a look of shock that crossed her face.

"Zuko?" she asked stunned and he ran up and grasped her in a tight hug. She hugged back and they stayed like that for a while. He pulled back first and saw that she had tears in her eyes.

"We're here to get you out of here," he said shakily with tears welling up in his eyes as well, but looking lovingly at his mother; he had missed her so much. She stroked this face where his scar is and he closed his eyes.

"You need to fill me in on what has happened since I left, but not now, we need to get out of here first," she said stepping out of the room with Zuko at her side. "And who might this be?" she asked spotting Hakiya who stayed back while Zuko had his reunion with his mother. She smiled back at Ursa.

"I'm a friend, but we really need to be going now," she said and turned to leave. She walked outside, followed by Zuko and Ursa.

"She's not supposed to-" a guard started, but Zuko's glare cut him off.

"You'll be very sorry if anyone tries to stop us, and I'm not the one you should be afraid of either," Zuko said gesturing to Hakiya when he said the last part and they all started laughing.

"Don't underestimate me, you'll be sorry," she said walking down the path and out of the guards' sight with Ursa and Zuko following. The guards fell silent at her eerily calm voice, but for good measure she made sure they would stay put by pushing them against a wall of the house and freezing their arms and legs to the wall.

When she felt they were a good distance away, she made an ice board with a concerned face. "Climb on everyone," she said with a hint of uneasiness. Once everyone was on and feet had been secured, she climbed into the night sky and started out, but she couldn't get very high into the air even with the moon's presence helping. It took her a half an hour to reach the island they had passed ten minutes before they had reached The Isle, and when they got there, they crash landed, falling on the sand.

"Hakiya!" Zuko shouted and went over to her after he made sure his mother was all right. She was trying hard not to look too exhausted, but she looked like she was going to faint. She was starting to get bags under her eyes and he could see she was holding her stomach; she was probably hungry again. He instantly felt guilty for pushing her so hard. "You lay down and get some rest, I'll go look for some food," he said and left to search the island for food. He came back a half-hour later with some berries and a few mangos to see his mother looking over Hakiya.

He gave one of the fruits to his mother, but she shook her head.

"Even though I've had a lack of information, I've been fed well enough, you two need it more than me," she said, her motherly instincts taking over. She grabbed on of the mangos and helped Hakiya sit up.

"Here darling, you need to eat, keep your strength up," she said and helped her eat the mango. After that she helped her get her pack off and use that as a pillow. She fell asleep after a quiet thank-you and a smile.

"You need to get some sleep to Zuko," she said as he sat down beside her. He had bags under his eyes as well his mother noted.

"But we have so much to talk about," he said and she sighed.

"I know," she said and put her arm around his shoulder, "How about this, tell me something important that happened, and you can tell me more after you get some sleep," she said.

"All right, well," he said and though for a moment, "I helped Aang, who's the avatar, defeat father and Azula to end the war, and I became Firelord," he said.

"My baby's the Firelord?" She asked with a smile in her voice.

"Yes mother," he said laughing as she messed with his hair.

"I also see you got a hair cut," she said and smiled. He looked down.

"Ya," he said and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, you look as handsome as ever, and you can tell me all about it when you wake up. I'll be here, and I love you. Now get some sleep," she said and made him lie down too.

"I love you too," he said shutting his eyes and sleep came instantly.

Later

When Hakiya woke up, her head was throbbing in pain. She looked around and saw that Zuko and his mother were both asleep. She was so happy that he had his mother; he deserved something to go right in his life. She turned back to the ocean and had a thought. She went up to the waves and made water cover her hands and start glowing an unnatural blue color. Then she put her hands up to her temples and headache soon faded away and she got more strength from the healing water. She let the water down and then turned around to see Zuko watching her. She got up and smiled at him, then she closed her eyes too see if she could get more food. She found a good spot and then opened her eyes again to see Zuko right in front of her.

"I thought I told you not to sneak up on me?" she said and narrowed her eyes at him in mock anger.

"Thank you, I never would have been able to find her without you," he said and hugged her. She hugged back, but then pulled back.

"I should go find-" Hakiya started to say when Zuko bent down and kissed her. She was shocked at first, but then kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulled back suddenly and looked down.

"I'm gonna go find some food now, you stay with your mom," she said hurrying away. Zuko stood there shocked at what had happened. Then he hit his hand against his forehead. _Stupid_ is what he thought, but then again, this girl was so confusing. He sighed and walked back over to his mother. When he sat down next to her she opened her eyes and sat up.

"Good morning," she said smiling at him. He looked at her and smiled. She looked around and noticed the girl wasn't there. "Where's your friend?" she asked him.

"She went to find us some food. She insisted," he added after a reproachful look from his mother.

"Alright, do you want to-" she started to say when Hakiya came back caring three huge fruits. She set them down in front of each of them and Zuko looked at her.

"And how do you expect us to get these open?" he asked her smirking, thinking he one-upped her. She raised her arms and then water came out of the ocean and rested around her arms. In one quick movement she brought her hand down and the water cut the melon in half in front of Zuko's feet. This time Hakiya smirked.

"You have so much faith in me Zuko," she said sarcastically cutting open the other two melons and they all ate, Zuko glaring at her as he took the first bite. When they were finished they all got together and got on the ice board again, but this time when they went into the air they could go to their normal height.

"So, how did a waterbender and a firebender meet, this had got to be interesting," Ursa asked.

"Well, it's definitely interesting," Hakiya said.

"It's a long story mother, in fact I think everything I need to tell you is a long story. Why don't we wait till we get back to everyone else?" Zuko asked and she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Everyone else? And where are they?" she asked.

"The rest of our friends, and they're at the Western Air Temple," Zuko said and she nodded. There was little conversation the rest of the way to the temple, and they got there just as everyone was getting dinner ready, which was a few hours after night fall and that helped Hakiya go faster. She landed correctly this time, but still was just as tired as the last time. She hobbled over to her little corner and plopped down, not bothering to take her bedroll out again.

"Good night everyone," she said quietly because she knew everyone was looking at her. Then they all turned to Zuko and Ursa who were walking toward them. Everyone looked shocked to see the woman behind him. He led her down to the circle they were in.

"Everyone this is my mother," he said addressing the group and gesturing to his mother, "Mother, this is Aang, Katara, Suki, Sokka, and Toph. These are the friends I mentioned earlier," he said and she nodded. Ursa then received a few hi's, hello's, and one 'hello Mrs. Zuko's mom', which she had to laugh at. They all talked for what felt like hours getting to know each other.

"Well, I think it's time to get to bed now, it's late," she said and stood up with everyone else following her and getting ready for bed. By the end of the day, Ursa knew most of their stories, except for Hakiya's. She followed Zuko to his corner and he gave her his pillow and blanket.

"Here, I don't need these, you take them," Zuko said and smiled at her.

"But you'll get cold," she tried at a weak attempt to make him take the blankets.

"Nice try, but I'm a firebender mother, I can't really get cold. Just take it and don't baby me," he said and she sighed. Then she laid down and fell asleep. Zuko's eyes rested on Hakiya's sleeping form and he sighed. He thought that he heard her mutter something in her sleep that sounded like "I'm sorry," but he wasn't sure. Soon after that he fell asleep too.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey everyone, I'm really sorry for the long wait, but school kinda does that to me, which is why there's only one more chapter. I hope that everyone will stick with it, just for a few more days, and we'll be done. And how Hakiya finds food- it'll be explained in the next chapter, so if anyone has questions they want answered review or PM me. And finally, here's chapter nine, and remember to review!

Hakiya woke up at her usual time, everyone still asleep, so she went to do her normal daily routine, but she played in the river a little longer than she thought, because Zuko came up to the river too.

"What are you doing up here, there's a reason I go up here when everyone's asleep!" she said running out of the river and grabbing her second set of clothes, luckily she still had her undergarments on, so she wasn't totally naked. She bended the water off of her then put her pants on, then her shirt but he went over to her before she could put her jacket on.

"What's that on your arm?" He said grabbing her left arm and holding it outstretched. She sighed and pushed the sleeve of her shirt up even higher to show a dark pink mark on her arm that started a few inches above her elbow and went all the way into her armpit.

"It's a scar, like yours. I got it when in tried to help the village I was staying in, but it's just a reminder of how I failed, so I hide it," she said not looking at him.

"I'm sorry," he said, sounding like he was at a loss for words.

"Me too. I tried healing it, but the burn was too deep, and I waited too long. Just another reason I don't like to remember my past," she finished darkly.

"The past is the past, there's nothing you can do now but keep moving foreword. But just to let you know, your scar doesn't show you failed, it shows you fought till you couldn't anymore, it's nothing you should hide."

"Is that how you see your scar?"

"I used to think that it marked me as the banished prince, but I know now that it doesn't define me, and yours doesn't either. Your not a failure, you're a survivor, you wouldn't be here if you weren't. So trust me when I tell you it's not something to hide."

"I'm sorry, but it's not the same. I let people down, people died because I couldn't help, it just reminds me of that, that's why I hide it," she replied.

"Well, hide it if you want, but there's nothing to be ashamed of, you did all you could. But I have one more question for you," he said and she turned around with her jacket on. She nodded for him to continue.

"When we were on that beach, I kissed you, and you kissed back, but then you ran away. Why?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice.

"Because I think I like you, that's why I kissed back, but then I thought about who you are. Your royalty, and I'm a girl with no home, and there's no way that would work out, so I left before I could hurt anyone further," she replied quickly looking away from him. He could tell she was hiding something from him, but didn't push it.

"I can see where you're coming from, but don't you think because I am the Firelord, that I can pick whoever I want to date, no matter social status?" He asked her and she turned her head to look at him with a questioning look in her eyes. He stepped forward and looked her in the eyes. "It doesn't matter where you come from, I accept you the way you are, everyone else will have to deal with it if they don't like it." He told her and then bent his head down to kiss her, and she kissed back. When they finally broke apart she smiled at him and he smiled back

"Everyone else is awake already and we're going back to the fire nation today. Will you go with?" he asked as they walked back down to the temple. She gave him a contemplating and he looked shocked in return. She just laughed.

"Your so gullible, of course I'll come," she said still laughing.

"You're a good actress," he said sourly and she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever floats your boat," she said with a shrug and walked into the area the group had set up camp at, except the only thing that would let anyone know they were there was Appa. Everyone else was waiting on top of him with all of their supplies packed up.

"Finally you two got back, what took you so long," Sokka asked and everyone else looked at them.

"It took him a while to find me," she said and Zuko got onto the sky bison. He held his hand out to help Hakiya get on, but she shook her head.

"I have my own means of transport," she said moving her arms and creating her board. Then she started running with the board following her, and she jumped over the edge, the board flying under her feet as she fell, then she flew out of the canyon. Appa followed her out.

"I'm gonna miss doing that," she said to no one, and let Appa fly in front of her.

It took most of the day, but they reached the fire nation palace before the sun had set. Zuko's uncle came rushing out to greet them. Ursa jumped down and he gasped when he saw her.

"So I wasn't dreaming when you said you found her," Iroh said to Zuko and Ursa laughed.

"It's good to see you too Iroh," she said still laughing and then gave him a hug.

"So how long are all of you going to stay?" Zuko asked everyone who was still getting off Appa.

"Well, I really want to go and try to rebuild more of the temples. That was such a good idea Hakiya, I'm glad you started it," Aang said smiling.

"And I'm going with Aang," Katara said gently and took his hand.

"Well, I'm going to see if I can start my own school and try to teach some kids metalbending," Toph said.

"I kinda want to go back to Kioshi Island," Suki said.

"And I'm going with her," Sokka said.

"Hakiya," he looked at her because she's the only one who didn't answer. She had her arms crossed and was looking down.

"Hmmm, a place with a bed, clean clothes, not searching for food, sounds tempting," she said with Zuko hanging on her every word. "It couldn't hurt if I stay a while," she finally said and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wait, are you two…" Sokka started to ask and Hakiya gave a sly smile, and walked over next to Zuko and took his arm.

"WE WIN!" Aang's shout rang out across the courtyard they were standing in, and then he kissed Katara full on the lips. Toph, Suki, and Sokka all had sad expressions on their faces and dug in their pockets for coins, which they gave to Aang's waiting hand.

"You win what?" Hakiya asked suspiciously.

"We bet when and if you would get together. And they won," Toph replied grudgingly.

"Oh," Hakiya and Zuko said together while Iroh and Ursa laughed.

"So anyway… Will you guys stay for a few days?" Zuko asked.

"Sure," Aang said.

"Do you want me to show me to your rooms?" he asked and they all shook their heads.

"We remember where they were last time, don't worry about us sparky," Toph said and started to walk away. Everyone else nodded and followed.

"Well, seeing as I've never been here before, I'd be happy for you to show me to my room," Hakiya said as they turned and started walking inside, leaving Iroh and Ursa to catch up.

They walked down the halls and through a maze of corridors. She saw several pictures as she passed. She saw one of a small boy playing with his mother.

"Who's that?" she said stopping to look at the picture.

"Oh, that's me and my mother," he said scratching the back of his head. She moved to another picture a little farther down.

"Is this you too?" she asked while looking at a picture of a young boy who looked about seven. He nodded and grabbed her hand and they started walking again. "You were so cute," she said and he just kept looking strait ahead. "I said 'were' because your more than cute now, your very handsome," she said looking at him. He turned to look at her and smiled.

"Thank you," he said warmly and then they stopped in front of a door. He pulled it open and she stepped inside. It was a simple room, it had a bed, closet, desk, but she loved it all the same. She turned back around and saw him leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed against his chest.

"Aren't you going to come in?" she asked and he shrugged and walked over to her. She wrapped her arms around him, and he slipped his arms around her waist. Zuko bend down so his forehead was touching hers. "Now, I'm only going to stay on a few conditions," she said and Zuko's eyes widened but he let her continue. "I don't want history to repeat itself. I don't want to let you in only to have you ripped away from me," she said and put her head on his chest.

"So that's your real reason for running away on the island. I thought you were hiding something," he said running his hand through her hair. "And you don't have to worry about me, I can handle myself," he said. Then he wrapped his arms around her once again and laid his head down on her hair and the two stayed like that for a few minutes.

They heard a knock at the door that was never closed and they stepped away from each other. They turned to see a few servants. "It is good to see that our Lord is back from his vacation. We had orders to tell you that dinner shall be ready in an hour and we need to get you ready sir," one of them said and Zuko sighed. He then looked at Hakiya.

"There should be some clothes in the closet, I'll have one of them stay with you to help you get ready and show you to the dinning hall," he told her and she nodded.

"I need one of you to help Hakiya get ready," Zuko said and a woman stepped up and he nodded his consent. Then he turned back to Hakiya. "See you soon," he said and walked toward the door. She smiled at him but didn't say anything as he walked out the door and the servants filed out behind him, all except for one.

"Let's get you some new clothes and washed up," the servant said warmly toward the girl while walking out of the room. Hakiya smiled and followed out the door.

When they got to the wash room she thankfully let Hakiya take a bath on her own, and she picked out a nice red dress for her to wear. She put it on and started out for the dining hall, where everyone else was waiting for her, surprisingly all that took an hour. She sat down next to Zuko and then Sokka spoke up.

"Now we can eat, I haven't had a decent meal in a month!" he said and they all laughed and dug in, and for the first time in years, Hakiya felt like she was home, she was with her family.


	10. Chapter 10

**Wow, it's pretty much been a year since I've been on the site, but that's what going to school gets ya. But anyway, this was the only story I hadn't completed yet, so I wanted to add this last chapter like I was going to. Here come the sorries: so sorry about how short it is, but it's pretty good, otherwise I wouldn't be posting it, and I'm so sorry for the wait. I bid this story adieu, but if anyone has any new ideas for a new story that they want, I'd love to get back to writing. So for the last time, read, review, and enjoy!**

**I don't own A:TLA**

_Twenty Years Later_

Hakiya looked out to the water where the children were playing. She saw her two kids, Halan, her ten year old son, a firebender, and Talanya, her four year old daughter, a waterbender. She looked to her right and saw Zuko sitting next to her. He smiled at her and put his arm around her. She came closer to him and they were about to kiss when a ball of water came splashing right on them.

"Talanya," Hakiya complained as she bent the water off of Zuko and herself. Zuko just got up, pulling Hakiya right up with him.

"If they're playing that way, why don't we give them a taste of their own medicine?" He asked her smiling as he ran after his two kids who were already in the water. They were at their Ember Island home, having their annual monthly vacation. They had invited the others from Team Avatar, but they were all busy with their families, and honestly, Hakiya didn't know if she could handle many more children. A burst of flames that came right past her brought her back to the present.

"Halan, not you too," she said and then really looked at what was happening. Zuko had Halan and Talanya on his shoulders and he was smiling up at Halan.

"Good job son, right on target. Now Talanya, let's get mommy wet," Zuko said and Hakiya sighed, getting ready for another family duel, except the odds weren't exactly in her favor this time.

"What if I just come in the water with you guys? Then I'll be perfectly wet," she said stepping into the waves, but before she could go farther, she was dragged down under by Talanya. She easily resurfaced, but was still being fired at by Halan and Zuko, so she dove back under. She stirred up the water so they couldn't see where she was at, and then went over to Zuko, where she pulled his legs out from under him. The two children were still above water so she kissed him before they resurfaced.

"Wet enough now, or do we need to do that again," she asked him as they resurfaced and he shook his head no.

"Mommy, mommy, you're in the water too!" Talanya said and Hakiya picked her up and put her nose to Talanya's.

"Yes I am sweetie, but now that the sun has set, I believe it's time for you and Halan to get to bed, okay?" Hakiya told her, but she pouted.

"I don't wanna, mommy. I'm not tired yet," she said and then yawned. "Well, maybe just a little," she said and Hakiya laughed, taking her to shore along with Zuko, who was carrying Halan.

"If you get to bed now, we get to have more fun tomorrow morning, maybe we can do it again, how does that sound," Hakiya reasoned and Talanya shook her head okay. She laid her head down on Hakiya's shoulder until Hakiya put her to bed. By the time Hakiya and Zuko had gotten the little ones to fall asleep, they were just about as exhausted as the kids were.

"I didn't know two kids could be so much work," Zuko said sitting down on their bed.

"It's work, but it's rewarding. Besides, aren't they the cutest little things you've ever seen?" Hakiya said getting into bed with Zuko.

"Hmmm, not exactly, I thought you were, but I can say they are if you really want me to," he said putting his arm around her waist and bringing her closer to him. She snuggled even closer to him and his warmth.

"Well, I don't know. Don't you think I've outgrown 'cute'" she said putting her arm around him.

"I think you outgrew cute the moment I saw you back at the Air temple. And I think that I'm an idiot for waiting so long to marry you," he said between kisses on her checks, neck, jaw, forehead, and hair.

"You're not an idiot. Besides, waiting was my idea, so I'm glad you waited for me," she said to him and he tipped her chin up so she could look at him in the eyes.

"I would have waited forever for you, and when I found you, there wasn't any way I was going lose you. I love you Hakiya," he said and bend down to kiss her.

When they finally broke apart, she said breathlessly, "I love you too Zuko, I always will."

"Good, because I'm never going to let you leave," he said, amber eyes staring into deep blue ones. Then he bent down to kiss her again. When they broke apart, they held each other closely, and fell asleep in each other's arms, like they had done every night since the first night they fell asleep together, and like they will every night until the end.

The End

**A/N: I just had to put The End. It gives me as sense that it's been complete even though that was probably one of the lamest endings I've ever done/seen.**


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